Complaint says presbytery committed irregularities in action against Williamson By John H. Adams The Layman Online Monday, March 8, 2004 The Presbytery of Western North Carolina committed a number of constitutional irregularities when it invalidated the ministry of Parker T. Williamson as chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and editor in chief of its publications, according to a complaint filed with the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Mid Atlantic. Williamson also filed a request for a stay of enforcement. If three members of the synod court sign the request – and the presbytery decides not to respond or fails to successfully oppose it – the action by the presbytery cannot be implemented during the course of a trial. On Jan. 31, the presbytery voted to invalidate Williamson's ministry with the Presbyterian Lay Committee and declare that he was no longer – after 32 years – an active member of the presbytery. Rather, the presbytery made him an at-large member, a status normally conferred upon a minister only upon that minister's request, according to the Book of Order. Williamson opposed the change in status. In considering the stay of enforcement, the members of the synod court were also asked to determine that the complaint shows that "probable grounds exist for finding the decision or action [of the Presbytery] erroneous." Williamson's complaint said that at various stages, the presbytery, its Committee on Ministry and/or its Task Force on Validated Ministries committed a number of irregularities. Those irregularities range from failing to adhere to constitutional requirements to denying Williamson due process, the complaint says. They include: Failing to review material submitted by the Presbyterian Lay Committee demonstrating its compliance with G-11.0403, the section of the Book of Order that describes criteria for validating the ministries of continuing members. Public statements by presbytery leaders who declared that the Presbyterian Lay Committee's Declaration of Conscience was reason to invalidate Williamson's ministry. The declaration by the PLC Board of Directors urged Presbyterians to prayerfully consider designating their gifts only to PCUSA ministries that are faithful to the Jesus Christ. The failure of the presbytery's executive/stated clerk to present to the validation task force a certified letter from the chairman of the PLC. A charge that Williamson's ministry could not be validated because of its "character and conduct" – without specifying what that meant or giving Williamson an opportunity to respond. Meeting behind closed doors "without adequate, fair or balanced information concerning the Presbyterian Lay Committee." Failing to convey to the Presbyterian Lay Committee "any specific concerns or questions that it may have had with its ministry." The failure of the Committee on Ministry to meet with Williamson, even after the executive presbyter/stated clerk wrote a letter to the Presbyterian Lay Committee on April 23 stating that the COM "gratefully acknowledges the invitation of Reverend Williamson to tour the Lenoir facilities and meet with staff. We will call Reverend Williamson and schedule a time to act on his invitation." The complaint said the committee never followed up on that commitment. The presbytery failed to adopt written criteria for its validated ministries, as required by the Book of Order. The Committee on Ministry presented a four-page summary of its proposed reasons for invalidating Williamson's ministry with the Presbyterian Lay Committee. But, during the committee's presentation to the presbytery, it used "spokespersons" who made allegations that had no connection to that summary. "Representatives of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and Rev. Williamson specifically objected to these new, previously undisclosed allegations and the consequent denial of due process and a fair hearing. Nevertheless, the presbytery proceeded to vote on recommendations from the improper report and false charges, thereby ratifying and approving the denial of due process inherent therein." The complaint criticized the presbytery for refusing to grant the Presbyterian Lay Committee the right to have a court-certified videographer or stenographer make an official record of the Jan. 31 meeting. According to the complaint, "[T]he presbytery violated the spirit of G-14.0401, which states that 'a call for service to a church or other work in the mission of the church … is 'an act of the whole church carried out by the presbyter' (emphasis added), by shutting out wider church access to its deliberations through independently produced recordings of its proceedings. When recommending this action, the Executive Presbyter/Stated Clerk issued what was, in effect, a declaration of independence from the connectional church, 'I do not think that anybody but this presbytery needs to be concerned about what we do. This is our presbytery!'"

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